Politicians in jail

EditorialJuly 20, 2019

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THE spate of arrests targeting politicians does not bode well for the health of the political process in
the country. With the arrest of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi by NAB on Thursday,
there are now 12 politicians — the vast majority of them from opposition parties — in jail, with one
convicted and the rest pending investigation. Included in this number are two Waziristan MNAs in
police custody, who were booked for assault and criminal conspiracy in May but whose production
orders are yet to be issued. There are reports of NAB ‘hunting’ for yet another opposition party
politician, and speculation is rife regarding the next member of the PPP or PML-N to be picked up.
A prominent member of the ruling PTI, Aleem Khan, too, was arrested by NAB in a corruption case,
but was released on bail after two months.

There is no doubt that accountability is an essential component of governance. Those who wield power and
receive tax money from citizens are bound to answer to the people about the use or misuse of public funds.
However, the astonishing frequency with which opposition parties are being targeted for alleged crimes
ranging from so-called mega corruption and terrorism to drug possession, makes it appear more like a
sinister campaign to muzzle political opponents. The allegations levelled against these politicians are
undisputedly serious, but the trend of ‘imprison first, investigate later’ and the sheer arbitrariness of the
investigation process bear all the characteristics of a political witch-hunt. Too often, we have seen
lawmakers critical of the government jailed, remanded into custody and then left to languish there while a
fishing expedition is in full swing. Authorities have the right to question individuals whom they
legitimately suspect of wrongdoing, but the ongoing spectacle of dramatic arrests and prolonged
incarceration pending indictment or even an inquiry, has weakened the public’s confidence in these
investigating institutions. To make matters worse, the media trial and simultaneous smear campaigns
against those being probed violate the presumption of innocence principle and cast a shadow over the
fairness of the process. Even if individuals are later released from custody, there is little they can do to
rectify the damage that has been done to their reputation.

Regrettably, in this country, the court of public opinion has a tendency to assume that all politicians are
guilty of wrongdoing. But institutions must not operate under that impulse. They have a responsibility to
build airtight cases with legitimate evidence that will hold in a court of law and ensure that these cases
proceed in a transparent and efficient manner. There are certainly more professional methods that
investigating bodies can employ to probe these individuals — who now include a former prime minister
and a former president. Going after opposition politicians in this manner, without solid evidence, is
tantamount to harassment of the worst kind.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2019

On arrival in Pakistan, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and

his daughter Maryam are facing arrest in a case relating to the
purchase of high-end properties in London.
We thought it would be interesting to look back at all the major political
figures in Pakistan who have spent time behind bars.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890 – 1988)
Nationalist leader Ghaffar Khan was arrested in 1948 and jailed for seven
years.
In 1956, he was arrested for protesting against the establishment of ‘One
Unit’ in West Pakistan. He was kept in prison by the Ayub Khan’s regime
until 1964.
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan (1916 – 2003)
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was detained time and again for being very
vocal against military rulers.
Zia-ul-Haq, who ruled for a decade, put Nawabzada under house arrest for
nearly five years.
During Musharraf’s government, he headed that 16-party Alliance for the
Restoration of Democracy (ARD). Nawabzada was briefly arrested for
announcing to hold a rally in Lahore.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928 – 1979)
PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was detained by military rulers for nearly
two years, until his execution.
Bhutto was first detained by the then army chief General Yahya Khan in
1971 for criticising his mishandling of Bangladesh situation.
Bhutto was imprisoned at the Adiala Jail (Rawalpindi) for several weeks
until Yahya resigned and transferred powers to Bhutto.
In July 1977, Bhutto and his cabinet members were detained for a month
when General Zia-ul-Haq staged a coup.
In the murder case of Ahmed Raza Kasuri (1974), Bhutto spent more than a
year and a half in jail until his execution on April 4, 1979 at Central Jail
Rawalpindi.
Begum Nusrat Bhutto (1929 – 2011)
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s wife, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, become a symbol of
resistance to the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq after taking
over as head of the PPP.
She was frequently put under house arrests and detentions during 1970s
and 1980s. The Zia regime did not allow her to attend her husband’s
funeral after he was executed.
Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007)
Benazir Bhutto has also been behind bars. In 1981, she was imprisoned in
Sukkur Jail under harsh conditions for six months. Later, she was shifted to
Karachi Central Jail where she remained imprisoned for the next six
months.
Benazir Bhutto was also placed under house arrest in Larkana for 11
months.
In 1985, Benazir was kept under house arrest in Karachi for four months,
until her return to France.
While taking part in pro-democracy rallies during the Zia regime in 1986,
Benazir was again detained for several weeks in Landhi Jail.
Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Zardari has spent 11 years in jail on charges ranging from corruption to
murder and money laundering.
He was first jailed from 1990 to 1993 and then from 1996 to 2004.
Nawaz Sharif
After Pervez Musharraf’s 1999 coup, Nawaz Sharif was convicted of treason
and sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court.
But at the request of the Saudi monarch King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz,
Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif were released from prison after a year
and exiled to Saudi Arabia in December 2000.
They were kept in Attock, Landhi, and Adiala jails.
Imran Khan
After Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency in Nov 2007, Imran Khan, the
then opposition politician, remained in week-long custody.
Khan was arrested after trying to take charge of a student protest in Lahore
against the state of emergency. He was detained in the Dera Ghazi Khan
jail.
He was demanding the reinstatement of supreme court judges fired by
Musharraf.
Javed Hashmi
Senior politician Javed Hashmi was detained for about four years – from
2003 to 2007 – after he was convicted on treason charges for criticizing the
army.
Altaf Hussain
MQM founder Altaf Hussain was arrested at least three times during his
political career since 1979.
He was sent to jail for nine months in 1979, four months in 1986 and five
months in 1987 in connection with different cases.
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